It's often said that if you’re chatting at someone’s house in Kyoto and are told "ぶぶ漬けでもどうですか（Bubuzuke* demo dodesuka [How about ochazuke])?," the person actually means, "It's time for you to leave." Likewise, if your Japanese coworker says, "今度またお昼でも (Kondo mata ohiru demo [Let's have lunch together sometime])," he or she really means that they’ve got to go. * Bubuzuke is a Kyoto word for ochazuke.
Another case in point is a response to "Nihongo ga ojozu desune (You speak Japanese fluently)." In this case, you should say, "Iie, madamada desu (No, my Japanese isn't good)" even if you fluently speak Japanese. Such a modest response, or which may sound too modest, makes relationship with others better in Japan because we, Japanese, trust or like modest statements more than honest ones. To put it the other way around, Japanese, asked if they speak English, would never say they do. They would say, "Yes, but a little." Being honest is not always recommended in Japan.
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